Friday, April 16, 2010

Well!

It's been a long six weeks, but the revision is done and I can return to the land of the living! Yay!

Couple of orders of business (orders of business, I sound all official! Ha!) I am chatting with the InkPoppers over at InkPop.com tomorrow at 5:--PM EST. It will be a forum-style Q&A so drop by if you can, but even if you can't the forum will remain up! Here is where it should be. You can see there are questions there already.:)

I will also be doing a couple of other live chats over the next few weeks, so stay tuned! I'll put up details soon. I love chatting and obviously can't tour everywhere, so if you're in a city I missed, you will have lots of opportunities to ask your questions anyway!

I have a two (almost three!!) year old son named Gid who I talk about fairly frequently because he started terrible twos at one and I suspect they will go till at least four. Tonight alone, he shattered the side of my vegetable drawer in my refrigerator. We don't actually know how that happened, but he was the only one standing in the fridge when the big crack sounded, so we think we have the right suspect.

Last week was my daughter's birthday and she was SO pleased to get a How to Train Your Dragon cake!! We picked it up at noon and put it in the fridge. It became obvious very quickly that Gid was not going to leave the fridge alone (think a very loud, wailing child sitting in front of the fridge yelling "see cake!!" for a very long time. So around four we moved it to my office and locked it in. Around six my son walked in covered in red frosting.

*insert scream here*

Yes, I screamed.

This is what the cake looked like after we "fixed" it.

We actually did improve it. Kenny smoothed out the frosting on top and I transplanted the red edging from the back to the front. (And Aud, bless her optimistic little heart, said, "It looks better this way--like they are flying through a world of color!")

Gid is also in a "Mine!" phase. I don't mean he takes stuff from other kids or won't share, he declares everything to be his. For example, we drive around in the car and he sees a park. "Mom! Park!."

"Yes, Gid, a park." (Because I have to say his phrase back to him or he will just keep repeating it.)

"Mine, park!"

"Your park?"

"Mine park!"

Everything is his. His car, his school, his bank, his McDonald's, his dog (stray on the street). Everything.

So tonight we were pulling out of a friend's driveway and Gid says, "Mom! Stars!"

"Yes, Gid. Stars."

"Mine stars!"

And part of me couldn't help but grin that even at two years old, my son thinks the stars can be his.

He is a huge pilly, but I hope he never loses that ability to dream big. (See, this story did have a point!)

My nephew who is 2 1/2 got really mad the other day when I was talking to his older sister on the webcam and she said,"I love you Aunt Mary". He started screaming and saying, "My AUNT Mary, MY Aunt Mary!"

Wow, your little Gid is a rambunctious one at best. No worries we have all been there when ours were small. My Kris got into everything when he was small. It's their curiosity. Means he is destined to be a learner. In school that will be a good thing.

I LOVE your story about the "Mine". My two year old is exactly the same way. She repeats things over and over until I repeat it back. I can't just acknowledge she is talking to me, I have to repeat it for her to move on.

And then yes, we went through a "Mine" stage. Walking in the store, everything she saw was "Mine!" Followed by a screaming fit if I told her it wasn't hers.

Wow, this makes me feel so much better to hear about other author mom's dealing with ... strong-willed (shall we say?) children. :-) I know it probably doesn't make you laugh when he's destroying property or claiming the park, but it gave me a good laugh (as my 1yr old kept grabbing my hand and trying to type on the keys and cried that i would let him smash my sunglasses and screamed when I took away the pencil...) Ah the joys of motherhood. Good thing they're so cute, right? :-)

When I would tell my mom my horror stories about sharpies, ball point pens and such that involved my 2 year old she told me to enjoy it! She tells me how much she misses smudged windows, couch cushions on the floor and ruined lipsticks.

Very cute. But, I have to say, your books are AMAZING. I started Spells yesterday and finished it today due to my amazing connections. By the way, I think Tam should be "the one" for her, not David. But, it is your book not mine. On to my original point. It is at the VERY TOP of my bucket list(only 13 and 10/12 by the way) to be written into a book. I know that is an almost impossible request, but I would thank you for the rest of my life if you did. If, by some miracle you will, just let me know and I will describe my appearance, or just my full name if you wish. Or, you culd just remember me when you see me at my school in Cincinnati. :) Thank you SOO much from the bottom of my heart if it is a yes, but thanks for reading this anyway if it is a no.

Hi, thought you would like to see the portuguese(Portugal)cover for Wings. O Beijos dos Elfos means The Elf's Kiss. Here's the link:http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_f67VX4JgFhs/S87pbqlsYdI/AAAAAAAAAoE/WvJXqTsvIs4/s1600/oBeijodosElfos-frente_400.jpg

I am a #1 New York Times Best-Selling author of young adult fiction. My husband and I have four children and live in Glendale, Arizona. Further information, including a calendar of events, is available at my official website.